Prince Philip was one of the few people “wary of succumbing” to Meghan Markle’s “charm offensive” when she first joined the Royal Family, a royal author has claimed in a new book.
The late Duke of Edinburgh, known for his no-nonsense approach to life, reportedly didn’t see eye to eye with Queen Elizabeth II when it came to the Duchess of Sussex.
Rather, he drew a parallel in his mind between Meghan and Wallis Simpson, the American twice-divorced socialite behind the constitutional crisis that rocked Britain in 1936, author Ingrid Seward claimed.
In an extract from her new book titled “My Mother and I”, Ms Seward alleged Prince Philip dubbed Meghan “DoW” – or Duchess of Windsor, the title granted by King George VI to the socialite after Edward VIII’s abdication and marriage.
The extract published by the Daily Mail read: “One of the few wary of succumbing to her charm offensive, however, was Prince Philip.
“While the Queen continued to champion Harry’s new love, he warned his wife to be cautious. It was uncanny, he told her, how much Meghan reminded him of the Duchess of Windsor.
“He wasn’t simply referring to the fact that both were pencil-slim, dark-haired and glamorous American divorcees. There was a wealth of subtext in his barbed remark.”
While the late Queen, Ms Seward claimed, had “high hopes” for what the Duchess of Sussex might have achieved for the Commonwealth, her husband “never appeared to change his mind about Meghan.”
The writer added: “From the moment he detected her apparent similarity to Wallis, he referred to her as DoW (short for Duchess of Windsor)”.
Ms Seward, whose book will be released on February 15, believes the late Queen would have been “perfectly aware” of “what Philip meant when he drew parallels between Meghan and Wallis”, given she was directly affected by the American’s love story with Edward VIII.
Mrs Simpson became one of the most controversial figures in modern royal history after Edward VIII decided to abdicate in December 1936 to be able to marry her.
Handed the title of Duchess – but not the Her Royal Highness style – Mrs Simpson and her third husband lived for most of their lives in France.
The Duchess seemingly harboured spitefulness towards the Queen Mother, who in turn later blamed the untimely death of King George VI on the Windsors, feeling being thrust into the role of monarch following the abdication overloaded him with huge and damaging stress.
During their years of exile, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor continued to attract headlines – and, most damagingly, visited Nazi Germany in 1937 where they met Adolf Hitler and were photographed giving the notorious Nazi salute.
